Best Start Grant: business and regulatory impact assessment

Competition Assessment

The Scottish Government does not believe that the BSG will have an adverse impact on the competitiveness of Scottish companies or the third sector within the Scotland UK, or elsewhere.

There may be some impact on businesses and third sector organisations operating in Scotland in relation to the way Social Security Scotland delivers the devolved benefits compared to the status quo. These impacts could be both positive and negative and it is not possible to identify all possible impacts at this stage. For example, businesses that are currently involved in the delivery system under DWP governance may be affected if the arrangements are different when the governance is passed to Social Security Scotland. Also, the demands placed on third sector organisations providing advice and support for people receiving and enquiring about social security payments may change, and could require a change to their operations.

Any procurement required to support the administration of the BSG will be subject to the Public Contracts Scotland (2015) Regulations ^[11] and the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 ^[12] which together provide a national legislative framework for sustainable public procurement which supports Scotland's economic growth through improved procurement practice. The Regulations and the Act provide the statutory foundations for the Scottish Model of Procurement.

Test run of business forms

No new business forms will be brought in with the implementation of the proposed legislation.